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Sam Creighton

@samcreighton.bsky.social
1K followers 2.2K following 288 posts

Teacher, reader, talker, writer. Literacy lead. Faith, family, fiction, films. Catholic ✝️ Joshua 1:9, Isaiah 43:1. Need me? I’ll be in a book 📚

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Sam Creighton @samcreighton.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
The three best books I've read in the last few weeks. All absolute crackers for KS2. @sarapennypacker.bsky.social @rebstead.bsky.social
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Sam Creighton @samcreighton.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
How lots of the Writing Framework was welcome news for Writing for Pleasure schools like mine. My blog for the DfE teaching.blog.gov.uk/2025/11/17/w... @writingrocks.bsky.social
teaching.blog.gov.uk
How the new Writing Framework can transform primary school teaching
Sam Creighton talks about building a writing curriculum based on meaningful projects. Children learn specific writing skills while keeping the joy and pride that comes from creating their work.
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Sam Creighton @samcreighton.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
Made it out for a run for the first time in six days this evening - in the pelting rain no less - and, not to overstate it, but running gives me more life than basically anything else 🏃‍♂️❤️ ☔️
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Sam Creighton @samcreighton.bsky.social · 19/10/2025
'It is no great victory to learn to do something that one will not choose to do given the choice.' Eisner quoted in Making Poetry Happen in the context of children being volitional readers of poetry, but it's just as true & vital for all aspects of reading & writing. We need the skill AND the will 👏
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Marianne Doherty @mariannedoherty.bsky.social · 17/10/2025
For #KidsBooksFriday this week let’s highlight great kids puzzle and activity books. I find these are a great way to get kids to engage with physical books, particularly those who fear reading large swathes of text (as I did when I was wee). And they’re just great fun. #KidLitUK #UKKidLit #KidLit
Book cover for Pandora in Puzzlevale by Paul Duffiled, Poqu and Siobhan McKennaBook cover for Pierre the Maze Detective: The Search for the Stolen Maze Stone by Hiro KamigakiBook cover for Adventure Game Comics: Leviathan by Jason ShigaBook cover for Molly and the Mathematical Mystery by Eugenia Cheung and Aleksandra Artymowska
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Sam Creighton @samcreighton.bsky.social · 19/10/2025
'Times betwixt & between the demands of the curriculum where poetry can have a presence for teachers & pupils through reading aloud in an atmosphere of enjoyment & challenge is the place where poetry can matter most' My reading during kids' tennis lessons - real food for thought.
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Sam Creighton @samcreighton.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
Plain Jane and the Mermaid by @verabrosgol.bsky.social is an utterly brilliant graphic novel. Drawing from a range of folklore, it examines our eternal obsession with physical beauty & how we need to overcome that to find real worth and happiness. A great pick for UKS2 🌊 🧜‍♀️ 🦭
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Sam Creighton @samcreighton.bsky.social · 12/10/2025
I'm enjoying Adventures in Wonderland by @michaelrosenyes.bsky.social (thanks for the rec @newhambookshop.bsky.social). This point is spot on, kids' lit is a place where it is sensible to hope. Opposed to most adult lit which is centred on the inevitability of tragedy/the tragedy of inevitability.
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Marianne Doherty @mariannedoherty.bsky.social · 10/10/2025
With the IBC Excluded Voices report making for sober reading this week, let’s use #KidsBooksFriday to celebrate brilliant books from global majority writers. #KidLitUK #UKKidLit #KidLit www.inclusivebooksforchildren.org/excluded-voi...
Book cover for Spirit Warriors by Ashley ThorpeBook cover for Nush and the Stolen Emerald by Jasbinder BilanBook cover for Nate Yu’s Blast from the Past by Maisie ChanBook cover for Birdie by J. P. Rose
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Sam Creighton @samcreighton.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
What if the refugee crisis wasn’t happening far away, but here—in our own homes? No Refuge by Joe Brady & Patrice Aggs is a gripping, empathetic graphic novel that refuses to look away. I reviewed it for @justimaginecentre.bsky.social @the-phoenix-comic.bsky.social justimagine.co.uk/childrens-bo...
justimagine.co.uk
No Refuge - Just Imagine
From Sudan to Syria, from Gaza to Ukraine and from Afghanistan to the DRC, the 24-hour news cycle is filled with tragic tales of refugees. The problem is that watching these crises unfold on our scree...
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Sam Creighton @samcreighton.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
Thank you @newhambookshop.bsky.social! King's Hansel & Gretel is deliciously dark & more faithful than expected. Sendak's pictures are the right amount of scary. The Rosen/Oxenbury is so fun & I can't wait to read it aloud. My Hair... is beautifully lyrical. Now to start the new Rundell!
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Sam Creighton @samcreighton.bsky.social · 29/08/2025
Today's discussion with fellow @uklitassociation.bsky.social Award longlisters is absolutely one of the highlights of my year. An incredibly hard task to narrow the 7-10 category down to just 20 texts but the vibrant and thoughtful discussions are an honour to witness and be part of 👏 📚 ❤️
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Sam Creighton @samcreighton.bsky.social · 15/08/2025
Everything crossed to get MCR tickets. My teenage self is beyond excited... 😂😂
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Marianne Doherty @mariannedoherty.bsky.social · 15/08/2025
Schools are back this week in Scotland. So at @samcreighton.bsky.social’s suggestion, this week’s #KidsBooksFriday is about great books to share with a new class of kids. I’m not a teacher but I think these are all great books to read to kids as a first port of call. #UKKidLit #KidLit #KidLitUK
Book cover for Blitzers by Alastair ChisholmBook cover for The Little Wooden Robot and the Log Princess by Tom Gauld Book cover for It Might Be an Apple by Shinsuke YoshitakeBook cover for Back to School Tortoise by Lucy M George
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Sam Creighton @samcreighton.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
This is a pretty amazing place to live. I think everyone should get to see the sea every day.
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Sam Creighton @samcreighton.bsky.social · 05/08/2025
Excited to discover @lighthousecomics.co.uk in my new town. I only popped in but it looks fab. Picked up Haru in the hope of making the next #LetsTalkGraphicNovels @mattobin.bsky.social @richardruddick.bsky.social @rcharlesworth.bsky.social 👏 Will be sure to go in again to buy these new titles too.
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Sam Creighton @samcreighton.bsky.social · 03/08/2025
I hope you're happy @struan-murray.bsky.social! My 9 year old is bereft having finished Dragonborn because the next instalment isn't out yet! He adores it and now can't choose his next book, as he thinks nothing will compare! 😂 How long until he can get his hands on part two?!
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Sam Creighton @samcreighton.bsky.social · 31/07/2025
The world is a stunning place 👏 🌳 A family stroll through Brockhill Country Park. My kids get taken there quite a lot by school, such an amazing resources to have on your doorstep!
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Sam Creighton @samcreighton.bsky.social · 31/07/2025
I help run a MAT book club where teachers from each of the 5 schools meets half-termly to discuss 2 texts. Here are my initial choices for next year but I'm very open to suggestions or recommendations! @teresacremin.bsky.social @richardruddick.bsky.social @jonnybid.bsky.social @smithsmm.bsky.social
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Ross Young @writingrocks.bsky.social · 27/07/2025
“Students have been incentivised to behave and write like an algorithm in order to please the measurements by which they’re judged…” - @biblioracle.bsky.social
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Sam Creighton @samcreighton.bsky.social · 27/07/2025
Lovely 4 days alone with my kiddos! Bravo @englishheritage.bsky.social & @nationaltrust.org.uk. We've ✅ Dover Castle, Richborough Roman Fort, Walmer Castle & Scotney Castle (& Radnor Park, Brockhill Country Park & Cheriton Library). We've Warren Coastal Park & Battle Abbey today & Cliveden tomorrow
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Sam Creighton @samcreighton.bsky.social · 25/07/2025
Some great stuff here 👏 'Teachers should reflect on how weighted their English curriculums are towards other subjects as opposed to explicitly focusing on the teaching of writing.' 100% this 👆 we need to use writing lessons to actually teach writing knowledge & skills!
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SF Said @whatsfsaid.bsky.social · 24/07/2025
If you want to read some thoughts on Tolkien, Le Guin, Pullman, Blackman, Blake & more - I very much enjoyed talking about them all in this interview about Tyger with The Daily Bulldog: dailybulldog.com/arts/an-inte...
dailybulldog.com
An Interview With SF Said
A remarkable book is being released in the U.S. today. Tyger by SF Said won the British Book Award for Children’s Fiction Book of the Year when it was published in the U.K. in 2023…
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Sam Creighton @samcreighton.bsky.social · 24/07/2025
These pictures sum up my four perfectly. The six year old and two year old running off with wild abandon, the four year old dancing around with a flower and the nine year old about to fall off a hill because he's lost in a book (Reek by @alastairchisholm.bsky.social) 😂
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Sam Creighton @samcreighton.bsky.social · 20/07/2025
“Manhood’s become a rock / I cannot lift alone.” Joseph Coelho’s The Boy Lost in the Maze remakes the Theseus myth into a mirror—reflecting modern masculinity, identity and the timeless search for self. My review for @justimaginecentre.bsky.social justimagine.co.uk/childrens-bo...
justimagine.co.uk
The Boy Lost in the Maze - Just Imagine
Myths are a thing of liquid. They flow to fit the vessel into which they are poured, curving into each crevice and curling into every corner—the same water taking on new and unrecognisable shape. Each...
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Sam Creighton @samcreighton.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
This has sent me into the summer on such a high. Met a girl in my new class at the beginning of the week, who confidently told me she doesn't like reading. I said that's fine, but even after just knowing you for five minutes, I think you might like this, and handed her Smile by @goraina.bsky.social
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Sam Creighton @samcreighton.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
I utterly love being a teacher but I do hate how we go so full on during term time that our bodies save all our illness for the start of the holidays... felt like death for two days now and know I will do for another week...
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Sam Creighton @samcreighton.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
Last literacy masterclass of the year for staff. Choose a book to enjoy over the summer! (No compulsion to read them but I'm confident most will choose to, especially after I share my favourite Auden quote on the first slide!) @teresacremin.bsky.social @jonnybid.bsky.social @openuni-rfp.bsky.social
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Sam Creighton @samcreighton.bsky.social · 12/07/2025
Another work of utter genius from Shinsuke Yoshitake. It's definitely going to be one of the first books I read with my new class, we might even then write one together about teachers and pupils 😂. First books to read in September could make a good #KidsBooksFriday Q @mariannedoherty.bsky.social! 👏
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Sam Creighton @samcreighton.bsky.social · 12/07/2025
It's taken me too long to get around to reading Rosa by Starlight from @hilarymckay.bsky.social. It's quiet, brave & magical, just like Rosa. It's a certain sort of book for a certain sort of child, it reminds me of texts likes The Song of Lewis Carmichael or, more recently Jakub's Otter ❤️ ❤️
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Sam Creighton @samcreighton.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
✅ Writing as a distinct subject ✅ Reading like writers ✅ Pupil choice & agency ✅ Real purpose for projects ✅ Daily writing ✅ Personal writing time ✅ Valuing writing identity & culture ✅ Teachers as writers Writing Framework offers big steps forward @writingrocks.bsky.social @teresacremin.bsky.social
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Marianne Doherty @mariannedoherty.bsky.social · 04/07/2025
Off on our travels again; today with Nevermoor for company. A good epic series often gets us through a long family car journey. We’ve loved Brightstorm by Vashti Hardy and @cressidacowell.bsky.social’s Wizard’s of Once series. What are you #KidsBooksFriday epic series recommendations? #KidLitUK
Book cover for Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica TownsendBook cover for Brightstorm by Vashti HardyBook cover for Wizards of Once by Cressida Cowell.
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Sam Creighton @samcreighton.bsky.social · 02/07/2025
Amazing evening hearing Kwame Alexander speak at an Andersen Press salon tonight. His line that 'the mind of an adult begins in the imagination of a child' will stay with me. I also got to ask a question about shifting themes in his work that I've been wondering about for a while 👏
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Sam Creighton @samcreighton.bsky.social · 01/07/2025
@frankcottrellboyce.bsky.social I was at your UKLA keynote & asked a question about how children are taught writing. Your answer really chimed with the curriculum we’ve developed at our school in East London over the past five years. I’d love to share some info—what’s the best way to contact you?
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Sam Creighton @samcreighton.bsky.social · 29/06/2025
Buzzing on the way back from the @uklitassociation.bsky.social International Conference. From the opening session to the closing, so much to think about. Even more amazing though are the connections I've made with inspiring researchers and practitioners I can learn from and work with in the future
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Sam Creighton @samcreighton.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
Just finished Fallout and it might be my favourite @lesleyparr.bsky.social book yet 👏 pacy but full of depth, great characters & a perfectly rendered historical period, cracking stuff for UKS2. Now it's off to the @uklitassociation.bsky.social Book Awards ceremony!
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Sam Creighton @samcreighton.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
200% well deserved this is 👏
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Marianne Doherty @mariannedoherty.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
Kicking things off earlier today as I’m heading off on a summer bookshop hunt. So for this week’s #KidsBooksFriday - what recent titles should we all be keeping an eye out for in bookshops this summer? Mine are The Hidden Heroes of Science and Nate Yu’s Blast from the Past. #KidLitUK
Book cover for The Hidden Heroes of Science by Peter Gallivan and Robbie CathroBook cover for Nate Yu’s Blast from the Past by Maisie Chan.
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Sam Creighton @samcreighton.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
I accept this is a nice problem, but choosing which sessions to go to at the @uklitassociation.bsky.social International Conference is so hard! Out of the 4 slots when I can attend something, there are 17 workshops or symposiums etc I want to see 😂 spoilt for choice!
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Sam Creighton @samcreighton.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
Very excited to head to Liverpool tomorrow for the @uklitassociation.bsky.social International Conference. Beyond psyched to learn from colleagues, to present on my school's writing curriculum & to spend all my money at @childrensbooks.bsky.social 👏
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Sam Creighton @samcreighton.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
A cracking little article. The Earthsea Cycle must be one of the greatest examples that children engage with stories of great depth and importance, that they should be spoken up to, never down.
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Sam Creighton @samcreighton.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
Reader problems #478 (and probably the WORST one): When you go to bed after reading up to a crucial and exciting part of the story but, the next morning when you are leaving for work, you can't remember where you put it down, so you have to leave without it. 😭😭😅
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Sam Creighton @samcreighton.bsky.social · 22/06/2025
#sundaymorningbookchat
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Sam Creighton @samcreighton.bsky.social · 20/06/2025
There are some authors where you have to read every word they write. Katya Balen is one of those for me. I have finally started Ghostlines today & the beauty of her writing never disappoints. I always think, just like with David Almond & Julia Green, her prose reads like poetry #KidsLitUK
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Marianne Doherty @mariannedoherty.bsky.social · 20/06/2025
I reckon we could use some more kids’ book chat on BlueSky, so I thought I might attempt a #KidsBooksFriday chat. Let’s start with… What is one book you’d love every child to get the chance to read? Mine would be @markbradley.bsky.social’s Bumble & Snug and the Angry Pirates. #KidLitUK #KidLit
Book cover for Bumble & Snug and the Angry Pirates by Mark Bradley.
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Sam Creighton @samcreighton.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
'What ifs weigh heavy, why nots lift the heart...' Jakub's Otter by @coralrumble.bsky.social is a gentle joy - I can't recommend it enough 👏 📚 ❤️
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Sam Creighton @samcreighton.bsky.social · 10/06/2025
My daughter loves her Tonie Box & after I read her a bedtime story, she lies down & listens to the We're Going On A Bear Hunt Tonie. She has listened to it so many times, she can recite it to herself, including @michaelrosenyes.bsky.social's delivery of all the copyright information 😂😂
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Sam Creighton @samcreighton.bsky.social · 10/06/2025
On The Wall by Anne Fine is utterly brilliant, both peaceably gentle & sharply astute. A series of connected vignettes from across a school year, it follows the lives & revels in the thoughts & foibles of a class of year sevens & their teachers. It couldn't be more real, affirming & warm hearted 👏
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